Skip to content
Boxscore

ArticlesArticle

Born abroad

From Irish immigrants to Dominican shortstops, Soviet defectors to Serbian MVPs, and Italy's closed borders to the Bosman ruling: how international baseball, basketball, hockey and Europe's soccer leagues have become, decade by decade.

By Austin · October 17, 2026

Baseball’s first foreign players were Irish immigrants; today more than a quarter of its rookies are born abroad, most of them in Latin America. Half of the NHL’s new players were born outside Canada by the 2000s, the NBA’s recent MVPs come from Serbia, Greece, Cameroon and Canada, and Europe’s soccer leagues went from closed shops to the most international workplaces in sports. Here is how each league opened up, decade by decade.

SportCountedThenNow
BaseballBorn outside the 50 states8% (1870s)27% (2020s)
BasketballListed outside the U.S.0% (1950s)23% (2010s)
HockeyBorn outside Canada5% (1960s)62% (2020s)
SoccerAnother nationality than the league's15% (1963-64)61% (2025-26)

Baseball

In the 1870s and 1880s, one in twelve big-leaguers was born abroad, mostly in Ireland, Britain and Canada, and the share fell for half a century after. Cubans were the first Latin Americans, from Esteban Bellán in 1871, and came in numbers from the 1910s, though the color line kept out darker-skinned players until 1947; Minnie Miñoso and Tony Pérez followed. Dominicans arrived in the late 1950s and now outnumber everyone else: 957 Dominican-born players have reached the majors, nearly twice as many as from Venezuela, the next. Japan has sent 87, from Masanori Murakami in 1964 to Ichiro Suzuki and Shohei Ohtani.

0%10%20%30%1900195020001871: 11%1872: 8%1873: 6%1874: 7%1875: 6%1876: 7%1877: 0%1878: 14%1879: 9%1880: 8%1881: 14%1882: 10%1883: 13%1884: 8%1885: 10%1886: 0%1887: 5%1888: 5%1889: 6%1890: 8%1891: 6%1892: 0%1893: 4%1894: 6%1895: 0%1896: 3%1897: 5%1898: 2%1899: 2%1900: 0%1901: 7%1902: 10%1903: 4%1904: 5%1905: 6%1906: 3%1907: 1%1908: 4%1909: 5%1910: 2%1911: 4%1912: 3%1913: 3%1914: 4%1915: 2%1916: 4%1917: 0%1918: 3%1919: 1%1920: 2%1921: 3%1922: 1%1923: 1%1924: 2%1925: 3%1926: 1%1927: 1%1928: 0%1929: 3%1930: 1%1931: 3%1932: 3%1933: 3%1934: 1%1935: 2%1936: 1%1937: 4%1938: 2%1939: 1%1940: 4%1941: 5%1942: 5%1943: 4%1944: 5%1945: 7%1946: 4%1947: 1%1948: 2%1949: 5%1950: 9%1951: 6%1952: 5%1953: 5%1954: 9%1955: 12%1956: 9%1957: 5%1958: 11%1959: 8%1960: 19%1961: 5%1962: 13%1963: 8%1964: 10%1965: 11%1966: 9%1967: 15%1968: 11%1969: 11%1970: 11%1971: 8%1972: 11%1973: 13%1974: 13%1975: 8%1976: 15%1977: 11%1978: 9%1979: 7%1980: 14%1981: 11%1982: 12%1983: 13%1984: 11%1985: 14%1986: 11%1987: 14%1988: 18%1989: 13%1990: 19%1991: 17%1992: 20%1993: 19%1994: 18%1995: 20%1996: 26%1997: 31%1998: 24%1999: 27%2000: 26%2001: 28%2002: 26%2003: 28%2004: 26%2005: 27%2006: 33%2007: 26%2008: 25%2009: 27%2010: 25%2011: 25%2012: 29%2013: 29%2014: 30%2015: 30%2016: 29%2017: 31%2018: 29%2019: 25%2020: 34%2021: 26%2022: 28%2023: 23%2024: 25%2025: 23%2026: 32%32%
Players making their major-league debut each season, 1871 to 2026, and the share born outside the 50 states (Puerto Rico counts as abroad, as in MLB's own count).
Debuts inPlayersBorn abroadMost from
1870s4508%Ireland (13), United Kingdom (11), Canada (4)
1880s9398%Canada (40), Ireland (19), United Kingdom (7)
1890s8134%Canada (16), Ireland (7), United Kingdom (5)
1900s1,0845%Canada (22), United Kingdom (11), Ireland (5)
1910s1,5473%Cuba (12), Canada (8), Germany (6)
1920s1,2061%Cuba (5), Canada (5), Germany (2)
1930s1,0382%Canada (7), Cuba (3), Poland (2)
1940s1,1684%Cuba (22), Canada (15), Italy (3)
1950s1,0708%Cuba (36), Puerto Rico (14), Canada (12)
1960s1,25111%Cuba (36), Puerto Rico (24), Dominican Republic (22)
1970s1,31611%Puerto Rico (39), Dominican Republic (38), Mexico (18)
1980s1,45813%Dominican Republic (64), Puerto Rico (46), Venezuela (28)
1990s1,87922%Dominican Republic (156), Venezuela (62), Puerto Rico (59)
2000s2,07627%Dominican Republic (213), Venezuela (130), Puerto Rico (42)
2010s2,39428%Dominican Republic (265), Venezuela (162), Cuba (52)
2020s1,79327%Dominican Republic (197), Venezuela (106), Cuba (34)

Where they came from

CountryPlayersBest known
Dominican Republic957Albert Pujols, Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz (2005)
Venezuela514Miguel Cabrera, Salvador Perez, Jose Altuve
Puerto Rico294Yadier Molina, Roberto Clemente, Ivan Rodriguez
Canada275Joey Votto, Vladimir Guerrero (2019), Larry Walker
Cuba247Aroldis Chapman, Tony Perez, Minnie Minoso
Mexico158Vinny Castilla, Jorge Orta, Aurelio Rodriguez
Japan87Ichiro Suzuki, Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish
Panama67Rod Carew, Mariano Rivera, Carlos Lee

Basketball

The NBA was almost entirely American for its first 35 years. Hakeem Olajuwon, from Nigeria, went first in the 1984 draft, and Dražen Petrović and Vlade Divac came from Yugoslavia in 1989, but the real change came after 2000, with Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili. By the 2010s, nearly one debut in four was a player the league lists as from another country, and every MVP from 2019 to 2025 was born outside the United States: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Joel Embiid and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

0%10%20%30%1960-611980-812000-011946-47: 1%1947-48: 0%1948-49: 0%1949-50: 0%1950-51: 0%1951-52: 0%1952-53: 0%1953-54: 0%1954-55: 0%1955-56: 0%1956-57: 0%1958-59: 0%1961-62: 0%1962-63: 0%1963-64: 0%1964-65: 0%1966-67: 0%1967-68: 0%1968-69: 0%1969-70: 0%1970-71: 0%1971-72: 0%1972-73: 0%1973-74: 0%1974-75: 0%1975-76: 0%1976-77: 0%1977-78: 0%1978-79: 0%1979-80: 0%1980-81: 0%1981-82: 0%1982-83: 0%1983-84: 0%1984-85: 2%1985-86: 2%1986-87: 2%1987-88: 0%1988-89: 2%1989-90: 8%1990-91: 0%1991-92: 5%1992-93: 4%1993-94: 8%1994-95: 4%1995-96: 9%1996-97: 10%1997-98: 9%1998-99: 12%1999-00: 10%2000-01: 25%2001-02: 20%2002-03: 26%2003-04: 20%2004-05: 26%2005-06: 16%2006-07: 20%2007-08: 18%2008-09: 21%2009-10: 8%2010-11: 21%2011-12: 14%2012-13: 21%2013-14: 26%2014-15: 20%2015-16: 24%2016-17: 33%2017-18: 19%2018-19: 22%2019-20: 26%26%
Debuts each season through 2019-20, and the share the NBA lists as from another country. Our source has a country for 86% of those players.
Debuts inPlayersFrom abroadMost from
1940s3510%Canada (1)
1950s2490%–
1960s2690%–
1970s4960%–
1980s5772%Serbia (2), Puerto Rico (1), Spain (1)
1990s5807%Serbia (5), Croatia (4), Canada (3)
2000s57720%Serbia (11), France (11), Argentina (8)
2010s77723%Canada (24), France (15), Australia (11)

Where they came from

CountryPlayersBest known
Canada29Steve Nash, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Andrew Wiggins
France27Tony Parker, Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum
Serbia25Nikola Jokic, Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic
Croatia20Toni Kukoc, Bojan Bogdanovic, Ivica Zubac
Australia17Kyrie Irving, Joe Ingles, Ben Simmons
Lithuania12Domantas Sabonis, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jonas Valanciunas
Argentina11Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Carlos Delfino
Brazil11Anderson Varejao, Raul Neto, Tiago Splitter

Hockey

When the NHL doubled to twelve teams in 1967, 95% of its new players were Canadian. Swedes and Finns came in the 1970s, Börje Salming among the first; Czechoslovaks defected, like the Šťastný brothers in 1980; and Soviet players arrived when the Iron Curtain fell in 1989. Americans, a handful in 1967, are now the second-biggest group by far. Of the players who debuted in the 2020s, 38% were born in Canada.

Born in the U.S.Born in Europe and elsewhere
0%20%40%1980-812000-012020-21Born in the U.S., 1967-68: 2%Born in the U.S., 1968-69: 3%Born in the U.S., 1969-70: 6%Born in the U.S., 1970-71: 1%Born in the U.S., 1971-72: 11%Born in the U.S., 1972-73: 6%Born in the U.S., 1973-74: 11%Born in the U.S., 1974-75: 11%Born in the U.S., 1975-76: 12%Born in the U.S., 1976-77: 12%Born in the U.S., 1977-78: 11%Born in the U.S., 1978-79: 14%Born in the U.S., 1979-80: 16%Born in the U.S., 1980-81: 11%Born in the U.S., 1981-82: 10%Born in the U.S., 1982-83: 10%Born in the U.S., 1983-84: 22%Born in the U.S., 1984-85: 21%Born in the U.S., 1985-86: 16%Born in the U.S., 1986-87: 16%Born in the U.S., 1987-88: 18%Born in the U.S., 1988-89: 15%Born in the U.S., 1989-90: 20%Born in the U.S., 1990-91: 19%Born in the U.S., 1991-92: 23%Born in the U.S., 1992-93: 16%Born in the U.S., 1993-94: 17%Born in the U.S., 1994-95: 19%Born in the U.S., 1995-96: 11%Born in the U.S., 1996-97: 10%Born in the U.S., 1997-98: 14%Born in the U.S., 1998-99: 20%Born in the U.S., 1999-00: 18%Born in the U.S., 2000-01: 7%Born in the U.S., 2001-02: 16%Born in the U.S., 2002-03: 16%Born in the U.S., 2003-04: 20%Born in the U.S., 2005-06: 23%Born in the U.S., 2006-07: 22%Born in the U.S., 2007-08: 27%Born in the U.S., 2008-09: 25%Born in the U.S., 2009-10: 22%Born in the U.S., 2010-11: 27%Born in the U.S., 2011-12: 27%Born in the U.S., 2012-13: 28%Born in the U.S., 2013-14: 27%Born in the U.S., 2014-15: 26%Born in the U.S., 2015-16: 27%Born in the U.S., 2016-17: 36%Born in the U.S., 2017-18: 32%Born in the U.S., 2018-19: 28%Born in the U.S., 2019-20: 22%Born in the U.S., 2020-21: 27%Born in the U.S., 2021-22: 25%Born in the U.S., 2022-23: 26%Born in the U.S., 2023-24: 27%Born in the U.S., 2024-25: 30%Born in the U.S., 2025-26: 19%19%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1967-68: 2%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1968-69: 4%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1969-70: 5%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1970-71: 1%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1971-72: 0%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1972-73: 2%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1973-74: 5%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1974-75: 3%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1975-76: 1%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1976-77: 4%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1977-78: 8%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1978-79: 14%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1979-80: 6%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1980-81: 11%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1981-82: 17%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1982-83: 14%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1983-84: 6%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1984-85: 17%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1985-86: 14%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1986-87: 9%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1987-88: 9%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1988-89: 10%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1989-90: 18%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1990-91: 20%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1991-92: 19%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1992-93: 39%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1993-94: 26%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1994-95: 24%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1995-96: 26%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1996-97: 28%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1997-98: 33%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1998-99: 25%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 1999-00: 38%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2000-01: 45%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2001-02: 39%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2002-03: 32%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2003-04: 30%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2005-06: 22%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2006-07: 29%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2007-08: 23%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2008-09: 25%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2009-10: 24%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2010-11: 25%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2011-12: 20%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2012-13: 25%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2013-14: 30%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2014-15: 30%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2015-16: 30%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2016-17: 29%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2017-18: 26%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2018-19: 32%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2019-20: 48%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2020-21: 34%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2021-22: 40%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2022-23: 36%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2023-24: 36%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2024-25: 33%Born in Europe and elsewhere, 2025-26: 39%39%
Debuts each season and the share born in the U.S. and outside North America; the rest were born in Canada. Countries are as they are today (Czechoslovakia is Czechia, the Soviet Union its successor states).
Debuts inPlayersBorn outside CanadaMost from
1960s4625%USA (12), Britain (4), Poland (2)
1970s99916%USA (112), Sweden (25), Finland (6)
1980s1,18528%USA (186), Sweden (48), Finland (41)
1990s1,24645%USA (210), Russia (109), Czechia (77)
2000s1,37450%USA (277), Czechia (87), Sweden (76)
2010s1,44858%USA (407), Sweden (144), Russia (74)
2020s81762%USA (211), Sweden (85), Russia (69)

Where they came from

CountryPlayersBest known
USA1,415Patrick Kane, Chris Chelios, Mike Modano
Sweden439Erik Karlsson, Jacob Markstrom, Nicklas Lidstrom
Russia317Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Alex Ovechkin
Finland277Teemu Selanne, Teppo Numminen, Pekka Rinne
Czechia271Jaromir Jagr, Roman Hamrlik, Patrik Elias
Slovakia97Zdeno Chara, Marian Hossa, Marian Gaborik
Germany44Leon Draisaitl, Uwe Krupp, Dennis Seidenberg
Switzerland43Roman Josi, Nino Niederreiter, Mark Hardy

Soccer

Europe’s leagues spent decades protecting their own. Italy closed its doors to new foreign players after losing to North Korea at the 1966 World Cup and kept them shut until 1980; its foreign share fell to zero by 1978. Spain reopened in 1973, the summer Johan Cruyff joined Barcelona. England always had Scots, Welsh and Irish players, but almost nobody from farther away until 1978, when Tottenham signed Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa. Then came the Bosman ruling in December 1995, which let players in the European Union move freely, and every league’s foreign share jumped within a few years. In 2025-26, 61% of the players in the five leagues had another nationality than the league’s.

ItalyEngland, not counting the British Isles
0%20%40%60%1980-812000-012020-21Italy, 1963-64: 12%Italy, 1964-65: 9%Italy, 1965-66: 8%Italy, 1966-67: 7%Italy, 1967-68: 8%Italy, 1968-69: 5%Italy, 1969-70: 5%Italy, 1970-71: 3%Italy, 1971-72: 3%Italy, 1972-73: 2%Italy, 1973-74: 1%Italy, 1974-75: 2%Italy, 1975-76: 1%Italy, 1976-77: 0%Italy, 1977-78: 0%Italy, 1978-79: 0%Italy, 1979-80: 0%Italy, 1980-81: 3%Italy, 1981-82: 4%Italy, 1982-83: 8%Italy, 1983-84: 9%Italy, 1984-85: 9%Italy, 1985-86: 9%Italy, 1986-87: 7%Italy, 1987-88: 9%Italy, 1988-89: 12%Italy, 1989-90: 11%Italy, 1990-91: 13%Italy, 1991-92: 13%Italy, 1992-93: 16%Italy, 1993-94: 14%Italy, 1994-95: 12%Italy, 1995-96: 15%Italy, 1996-97: 19%Italy, 1997-98: 24%Italy, 1998-99: 31%Italy, 1999-00: 30%Italy, 2000-01: 34%Italy, 2001-02: 37%Italy, 2002-03: 32%Italy, 2003-04: 31%Italy, 2004-05: 28%Italy, 2005-06: 28%Italy, 2006-07: 27%Italy, 2007-08: 33%Italy, 2008-09: 36%Italy, 2009-10: 38%Italy, 2010-11: 42%Italy, 2011-12: 44%Italy, 2012-13: 52%Italy, 2013-14: 53%Italy, 2014-15: 54%Italy, 2015-16: 56%Italy, 2016-17: 57%Italy, 2017-18: 55%Italy, 2018-19: 58%Italy, 2019-20: 60%Italy, 2020-21: 60%Italy, 2021-22: 63%Italy, 2022-23: 64%Italy, 2023-24: 64%Italy, 2024-25: 66%Italy, 2025-26: 69%69%England, not counting the British Isles, 1963-64: 1%England, not counting the British Isles, 1964-65: 1%England, not counting the British Isles, 1965-66: 1%England, not counting the British Isles, 1966-67: 0%England, not counting the British Isles, 1967-68: 1%England, not counting the British Isles, 1968-69: 1%England, not counting the British Isles, 1969-70: 2%England, not counting the British Isles, 1970-71: 2%England, not counting the British Isles, 1971-72: 2%England, not counting the British Isles, 1972-73: 1%England, not counting the British Isles, 1973-74: 1%England, not counting the British Isles, 1974-75: 1%England, not counting the British Isles, 1975-76: 1%England, not counting the British Isles, 1976-77: 1%England, not counting the British Isles, 1977-78: 1%England, not counting the British Isles, 1978-79: 3%England, not counting the British Isles, 1979-80: 4%England, not counting the British Isles, 1980-81: 5%England, not counting the British Isles, 1981-82: 6%England, not counting the British Isles, 1982-83: 6%England, not counting the British Isles, 1983-84: 4%England, not counting the British Isles, 1984-85: 5%England, not counting the British Isles, 1985-86: 4%England, not counting the British Isles, 1986-87: 4%England, not counting the British Isles, 1987-88: 4%England, not counting the British Isles, 1988-89: 4%England, not counting the British Isles, 1989-90: 6%England, not counting the British Isles, 1990-91: 7%England, not counting the British Isles, 1991-92: 8%England, not counting the British Isles, 1992-93: 10%England, not counting the British Isles, 1993-94: 11%England, not counting the British Isles, 1994-95: 12%England, not counting the British Isles, 1995-96: 16%England, not counting the British Isles, 1996-97: 21%England, not counting the British Isles, 1997-98: 29%England, not counting the British Isles, 1998-99: 31%England, not counting the British Isles, 1999-00: 33%England, not counting the British Isles, 2000-01: 36%England, not counting the British Isles, 2001-02: 42%England, not counting the British Isles, 2002-03: 44%England, not counting the British Isles, 2003-04: 44%England, not counting the British Isles, 2004-05: 46%England, not counting the British Isles, 2005-06: 47%England, not counting the British Isles, 2006-07: 50%England, not counting the British Isles, 2007-08: 50%England, not counting the British Isles, 2008-09: 50%England, not counting the British Isles, 2009-10: 49%England, not counting the British Isles, 2010-11: 48%England, not counting the British Isles, 2011-12: 47%England, not counting the British Isles, 2012-13: 52%England, not counting the British Isles, 2013-14: 58%England, not counting the British Isles, 2014-15: 55%England, not counting the British Isles, 2015-16: 57%England, not counting the British Isles, 2016-17: 58%England, not counting the British Isles, 2017-18: 59%England, not counting the British Isles, 2018-19: 61%England, not counting the British Isles, 2019-20: 57%England, not counting the British Isles, 2020-21: 56%England, not counting the British Isles, 2021-22: 60%England, not counting the British Isles, 2022-23: 61%England, not counting the British Isles, 2023-24: 59%England, not counting the British Isles, 2024-25: 59%England, not counting the British Isles, 2025-26: 64%64%
Each season's players, counted once per club, and the share whose nationality isn't the league's country. For England, players from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland are counted as home players in this line.
SeasonEnglandSpainItalyGermanyFrance
1965-6630%10%8%5%10%
1975-7626%19%1%10%16%
1985-8629%9%9%10%16%
1995-9634%20%15%24%19%
2005-0661%33%28%48%48%
2015-1668%43%56%56%56%
2025-2670%41%69%63%64%

The biggest foreign groups in each league

LeagueMost players fromBest known
EnglandScotland (715), Ireland (377), Wales (298)Andrew Robertson, John McGinn
SpainArgentina (523), Brazil (297), Uruguay (194)Lionel Messi, Ángel Di María
ItalyBrazil (358), Argentina (294), France (192)Marquinhos (2012), Thiago Silva
GermanyBrazil (177), Denmark (159), Austria (148)Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino
FranceBrazil (242), Senegal (238), Argentina (200)Marquinhos (2012), Thiago Silva

Use it in Teammate Chain

Teammate Chain’s “born in” puzzles ask you to connect players through teammates from one country, and this is where the pools come from: the Dominican Republic and Venezuela in baseball, Canada and France in basketball, Sweden and Finland in hockey. For the other way players arrive, see draft day.

How we counted

Players are counted once, in the season of their debut. Baseball uses birth countries from Lahman’s database through 2021 and MLB’s own records since, and counts Puerto Rico as abroad, as MLB does. Basketball uses the country the NBA lists for each player, which our source has for about 86% of players through 2019-20, so we stop there. Hockey uses birth countries as they are today. Soccer counts each player once per club per season, by his nationality on Transfermarkt, against the country of the league; a player with two nationalities counts by the one Transfermarkt lists first. Football is left out: our football data has no birthplaces.

About the data

Sources: Lahman’s baseball database and the MLB Stats API, the NBA’s player records, the NHL’s rosters and player records, and Transfermarkt. Spot a mistake? Let us know.